The idea that memories are stored in molecules was popular in the middle of the 20th century. However, since the discovery of long-term potentiation (LTP) in the 1970s, the dominant view has been that our memories are stored in synapses, that is, in the connections between neurons.
Today, there are signs that the interest in molecular memory is returning, and the guest has presented a theory suggesting that molecular and synaptic memory might serve complementary needs for animals.
Links:
- Gershman: “The molecular memory code and synaptic plasticity: a synthesis”, arXiv (2022)
- Gershman, Balbi, Gallistel, Gunawardena: “Reconsidering the evidence for learning in single cells”. eLife (2021)
- Gershman: “What does tbe free energy principle tell us about the brain?”, Neurons, Behavior, Data analysis and Theory (2019)
- Homepage of Sam Gershman
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